While it seemed that US wire rod mills would not see any further traction in securing their full $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) increase for February shipments, they have been able to push spot prices up by $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) in the last week. The minor success can be attributed in part to full mill order books, while trader sources also report a spike in demand for spot tonnage--since traders did not have much position tonnage to sell in the first place, US buyers are turning back to domestic mills to meet their needs. However, this slight increase will most likely be the last of the February increase that mills are able to get, considering new predictions for a downtrend in scrap this month (speculation currently points to a $10-$20/long ton dip for shredded).
As for new import offers, traders report moderate activity as US buyers wait to see how much Turkish wire rod prices will drop. Offer prices to the US decreased again in the last week, this time by approximately $0.75 cwt. ($17/mt or $15/nt), bringing prices into the range of $34.25-$35.25 cwt. ($755-$777/mt or $685-$705/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Apparently, Turkish mills have only booked minor orders of US scrap in the last week, and by the time they ramp up orders, US export scrap prices are expected to be lower than the last time they were in the market. Therefore, there is a strong possibility that Turkish wire rod prices to the US will continue on a downward trend.